Spring-bending press.



A. A. LONGAKER & W. H. MARKLAND.

SPRING BENDING PRESS. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11, 1914.

Patented Oct. 20, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHIIET 1 a Z I:

W/T/VESSS A. A. LONGAKER & W. H. MARKLAND.

SPRING BENDING' PRESS. APPLICATION FILED Emmi, 1914.

1,1 14,699. Patented Oct. 20, 1914.

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A 7' TOR/V5 Y IINITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT A LONGAKER, OF CHAMBERSBURG. AND WYLLIS H. MARKLAND, OF ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOBS TO CHAMBERSBUR-G EN GINEERING- COMPANY, OF CHAMBERSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

SPRING-IBENDING PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 20, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERTA. LoNcaunu and VVYLLIs H. MARKLAND, citizens of the United States, the former a resident of Chambersburg, in the county of Franklin, and the latter a resident of Altoona, in the county of Blair, both in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring-Bending Presses, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in presses for forming spring leaves from flat blanks, and more particularly'for forming heavy elliptical spring leaves such, for instance, as are used in locomotives and railway cars, and the objects of our invention are to cheapen and shorten the time of manufacture of such springs and to furnish any number of spring leaves each of which will be an exact duplicate of the others.

Our press consists of a suitable housing having at the lower end a-base and at the uppe-rend a cap. About midway between the cap and base is a fixed table and directly beneath this table is a punch table, suitably carried, and held against a certain amount of upward pressureby constant water pressure by the pistons of cylinders which are suitablycarried, by the fixed table for instance.

' Guided by the housings at the sides of the machine is a vertically moving top table, actuated preferably by three bydraulic cylinders, although this may be modified to suit springs of difl'erent sizes, carried by the cap, and a bottom vertically actuated table similarly actuated through cylinders carried in the base of machine.

The bottom movable table and the punch table carry dies and punches which are readily removable and adjustable for shearing or punching. the ends of the blanks to the desired shape and also to give the blank a preliminary bend near the ends, also a nibbing die and punch for nibbing the blank near its center and the top of the fixed table and the bottom of the movable table carry dies, easily removed and changed, between which the blank operated upon by the lower dies and punches is completed. The nibbing punch is free to move vertically in the punch table, its vertical movement being controlled by a stop or gage in the fixed table.

The blanks are first operated upon in the lower dies and are then, without reheating, moved to and finished in the upper dies. The set of three hydraulic cylinders for actuating each set of dies are entirely separate from each other and each cylinder of each set of cylindersmay be separately operated so as to produce a low, an intermediate, or ahigh pressure tonnage as may be necessary for the work in hand.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification and in which similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views: Figure l, is a front elevation of our spring leaf forming press; Fig. 2, an elevation of the right hand end of Fig. 1 Fig. 3, a section of Fig. 1 on line CD; Fig. 4, a section of Fig. l on line AB; Fig. 5, a plan of a spring leaf after having been completed in the press; Fig. 6, plans of another form of spring leaf after having been operated upon in the press.

1 is a cap and 2 a base. The base carries three hydraulic cylinders each of which is fitted with a plunger 7. The cap also carries one or more hydraulic cylinders each of which is fitted with a plunger 8. The cap and base are tied together by columns 14 which are shouldered at their tops and bottoms and furnished with nuts 36 to hold the base and cap rigidly against the shoulders. Owing to the shoulders these columns serve not only as fixed distance pieces between the cap and base, but also take care of the tension strains of the machine.

Guided upon columns 14 is an upper moving table 3, operated by plungers 8, and a lower moving table 4, operated by the plungers 7 v 5 is a fixed table carried by columns 14 and located about midway between cap 1 and base 2. This table is supported by countersunk split collars. 11 in the table 5 and secured by split nuts 10;

6 is a punch table vertically movable upon the columns 14.- v

13 are. bolts, carried by fixed table 5, which limit the downward movement of table 6, and 12 plungers of hydraulic cylinders, also carried by table 5. The cylinders of the plungers12 are under constant water pressure which is admitted to their cylinders through ports 26, Fig. 1.

Itwill be Observed that there is a gap between the fixed table 5 and the punch table 6 to permit the'latter to recede at the prope time.

The operation of the upper and lower moving tables 3 and 4: is controlled by a valve20, Fig. 2, through front or back treadles 2324= mounted u on cross shafts 21-22 and distributingva yes 25, one for :eachwater system of the-uppercylinders '31 which lead, the first, to the central one of the three upper cylinders, the second to the central one of the three lower cylinders, or through pipes 32.-;33, the first leading to the two upper end cylinders and the second to the two lower end cylinders in or-. der that-selective tonnage may be obtained for the operation of either the upper or lower moving tables. Ifthe cylinders be of i 25 tons capacity each water admitted to the i sure of 25 tons on the table towhich its pis central cylinder will cause it to exert a preston' is attached; if to the 'end'cylinders and not --to the central one there will be a WOI'ki ing'pressure of 50 tons, and if to all three 1 ,cylinders a working pressure of 75 tons;

"The treadles 23-24 are for operating the valves which control the flow of water to the cylinders and after having been depressed for admitting a flow of water are,

when released, returned to their first posiption'by a spring 27.

--'ing.the upper movable table after it has been-lowered to bend the spring between the 19 is a pull-back cylinder operating under a constant hydraulic pressure for lift- 1718, the upper one of said dies be- :ing carried by this table and the lower one by fined table 5. A pull-back cylinder may .he used in-connectionwith the lower hy draulic cylinders but ordinarily this will be- ;unnecessary as the weight of the several parts will be suficient to accomplish their return without other aid.

f The operation of the press is as follows:

Forleaves' similar to. that shown. Fig. 5, a straightdeaf 35 which has been sheared to approximately the proper length is inserted' in the lower part ofthe machine and rests upon the lower part of the dies 15 carfried by movable table 4. Pressure of water i is now admitted to one,'twofor three of the cylinders carrying plungers 7-, as may be necessary for the work in hand, and the .caniber.--

table 4 lifts until the ends ofthe blank contact with the faces of forming dies 15 carried by punch table 6, and on account of the greater pressure exerted by cylinders 2 as compared to cylinders 26 the punch table 6 is lifted by the power transmitted through .the dies 15. The punch 36 is firmly secured to table 5 and passes through the upper dies 15, and by the upward travel of the blank the necessary slot is punched in the same, afterward, by the upper travel of blank and dies, the punch table 6 is brought firmly in contact with fixed table 5 and forms end of blank to desired shapes. Or under certain eonditionsof lighter material this forming would be performed previous to the .tables 5 and 6 coming in contact. When the pressure is released from cylinders 2, table 6 is forced downward by cylinders 26 and strips the blank. from vpunches 36. For a blank of this nature the nibbing punch 16 makes the necessary nib in the blank when table 4 is in upper position.

For leaves-as shown in Fig. 6, suitably shaped dies [and punches 15-36 are employed. The operation, however, is modified in that the table 4 is raised twice. In the first operation only a part of the slot is cut away (see the upper figure of Fig. 6) and the-gage-or stop for the nibbing punch 16 v ismoved away so that the punch 16 is .iree'to ascend without making an impression'o'n the blank. After this operation is completed and table 4 has returned to rest,

thelblank is shifted and the gage for nibbing punch 16 moved to arrest vertical travel'ofpunch 16 and on the second ascent of table 4-.the remainder of slot is punched and the center nibbed as shown in the lower figure of Fig. 6. After completion of the operations inthe lower press, the blank is transferred to upper press of the machine, The plungers 8, one, two or all three of them, depending upon the pressure desired, are now operated to lower the upper moving table 3 when the die 17 carried thereby engages the top 025-. the leaf and bends it in the dies 1718 to the propercamber. The operator now throws the valves to lower table xwhen the partly finished leaf is removed from dies Hand is placed, without reheating, upon the lower die' 18 in the upper press of the machine. The plungers 8, one, two or all. three of them, depending upon the pressure desired,-are now operated to lower the upper moving table 3 when the die 17 carried thereby engages the top of the leaf and bends it in the'dies 17-18 to the proper In order that the 'u per table may not travel unnecessarily, e columns 14 are threaded andcarry split nuts 9 which may be so adjusted as to limit the operative movement v01E the plungers carried in the constant pressure pull-backicylinder 19.,

tally instead of vertically, and that the position of the top and bottom presses ma be reversed if desired without departing m the spirit of our invention.

Having thus described our invention we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A hydraulic press of the character set forth, comprising, in combination, a fixed cap and a fixed base, a housing connecting said cap and base, hydraulic cylinders carried by said cap and base, plungerscarried by said cylinders, die carrying-tables carried by said plungers adapted to be guided in their movements b the housing of the machine, and a fixed d1e carrying table, carried by said housing,'between the tables carried by said plungers.

2. A hydraulic press of'the character set forth, comprising, in combination, a fixed cap and a fixed base, hydraulic cylinders carried by said cap and base, plungers carried by said cylinders and operating toward the center of the press movable die carrying tables secured to sai plungers, means for guiding said tables in their movements, and

a fixed die carrying table located approximately midwaybetw'een sa'd cap and base.' 3. A hydraulic press of-t e character set;

forth and comprising, in combination, a fixed cap and a fixed base, columns forming distance pieces and guides securing said cap andbase, hydraulic cylinders carried by said cap and base, plungers carried by'said cylinders andoperating toward the'center of the press, a movable die carrying table secured to the upper set of plungers, a movable die carrying table secured to the lower,

set of plungers said tables being guided in their movements by the columns securing said base and cap, a fixed'die carrying table" probably curing said *ca lower and upper set of rams,

connection with dies carried by t e upper and lower movable tables.

'setjfoi'th, in combination, a base and a cap, a. lower set .of hydraulic'rams carried by said base and an upper set of hydraulic rams carried by said cap, columns forming tension members and distance pieces for seand base, a substantially central fixed-ta le carried by said columns, a movable table operated by said lower set of rams and a movable tableoperated by said upper setof rams, a die one member of which is carried by-the table actuated by the upper set of rams and the lower anember of which is carried by the fixed table, a punch table beneath said fixed table, hydraulic rams carried by said fixed table and operating under constant pressure against Y i 4. In a hydraulic press of the character which said punch table abuts, die members carried b said lower movable table and said punch ta 1e, and means for controlling the admission and exhaust of liquid to 5. In a hydrauliepress as set combination, an upper statlonary-dle member and means-for carrying t e same,- a

movable die member, a. movable table for carrying said latter member, hydraulically operated means for actuating said table, threaded columns upon which said table is guided, and nutscarried by sald columns or limiting table. 4 I ALBERT A. LONGAKER. 'WYLLIS H. MARKLAND. Witnesses as to Albert A. Longaker: Jxs. A. SMITH, H. M. Fnunumcx.

Witnesses as to Wyllis H. Markland B. B. KEMMERLING, P. H. DoUGnAs's.

forth, in

the upward movement of said 

